''Red Eye'' is a 2005 American

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

film directed by

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. Amongst his Wes Craven filmography, prolific filmography, Craven worked primarily in the Horror film, horror genre, particularly sla ...

and written by

Carl Ellsworth Carl Ellsworth is an American screenwriter, best known for writing '' Red Eye'', '' Disturbia'' and '' The Last House on the Left''. Filmography Television *''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997) *'' Mowgli: The New Adventures of the Jungle Book'' ...

, based on a story by Ellsworth and Dan Foos. It stars

Rachel McAdams Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from York University in 2001 with a BFA in theatre, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film '' Perfect Pie'' (2002), ...

Cillian Murphy Cillian Murphy ( ; born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor. His works encompass both stage and screen, and his accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He made his professional debut in Enda Walsh's 1996 pl ...

, and Brian Cox. The story follows a hotel manager ensnared in an

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

plot by a

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

while aboard a

red-eye flight In commercial aviation, a red-eye flight refers to a flight that departs at night and arrives the next morning, especially when the total flight time is insufficient for passengers to get a full night's sleep. The term derives from red eyes as ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. The

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

was composed and conducted by

Marco Beltrami Marco Beltrami (born October 7, 1966) is an American composer of film and television scores. He has worked in a number of genres, including horror ('' Scream'', ''Mimic, The Faculty, Resident Evil, The Woman in Black, Carrie, A Quiet Place'' ...

. It was distributed by

DreamWorks Pictures DreamWorks Pictures (also known as DreamWorks SKG and commonly referred to as DreamWorks) is an American film studio and Film distribution, distribution label of Amblin Partners. It was originally founded on October 12, 1994, as a live-action a ...

and released on August 19, 2005. The film received positive reviews. An extended version of the film, which added previously unused footage to increase the running time, was broadcast on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

television network several times.

Plot

After attending her grandmother's funeral, Lisa Reisert arrives at

Dallas Love Field Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public airport in the neighborhood of Love Field, Dallas, Love Field, northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas., effective April 17, 2025. It was Dallas' main airport until 1974 when Dallas Fort Worth Internation ...

to take a

back to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. She meets a handsome young man named Jackson Rippner, also traveling to Miami. While waiting to board her flight, they share a drink at the airport bar and engage in small talk. To her surprise, Lisa finds Jackson seated beside her on the flight. After takeoff, his charming demeanor quickly turns sinister as he informs her that he works for a

domestic terrorist Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.Gary M. Jackson, ''Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques ...

organization planning to assassinate Charles Keefe, the current

United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security The deputy secretary of homeland security is the chief operating officer of the United States Department of Homeland Security, with responsibility for managing day-to-day operations. The department has over 208,000 employees and an annual budge ...

. Lisa's managerial position at the Lux Atlantic Hotel in Miami, where Keefe and his family are staying, is crucial to their plot. Jackson orders Lisa to make a call to move the Keefe family to a suite where a missile launched from a boat in the harbor will strike. Otherwise, her father Joe will be killed. Lisa makes several attempts to delay making the call and get help, going as far as writing a fake bomb threat in the bathroom. However, a combination of bad luck and Jackson's vigilance thwarts all her efforts. Eventually, Lisa calls her co-worker, Cynthia, and has her move the Keefe family to the targeted suite. Jackson refuses to call off the hitman waiting outside Joe's house until the assassination is confirmed. As the plane lands at

Miami International Airport Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary international airport serving Miami and its Miami metropolitan area, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Florida. It hosts over 1, ...

, Lisa reveals having been the victim of a violent rape at knifepoint two years earlier. After expressing her determination to fight to the end, she stabs Jackson in the throat with a

ballpoint pen A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Hong Kong, Indian, Indonesian, Pakistani, and Philippine English), or dot pen ( Nepali English and South Asian English), is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) ...

, grabs his phone, and flees the plane. Once outside, Lisa makes her way to the airport exit and steals an unattended SUV. She tells Cynthia to evacuate the hotel suite. Cynthia, the Keefes, and U.S. Secret Service agents leave the room seconds before a

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

destroys it. The cell phone's battery dies as Lisa calls her father, so she hurries to his home. She hits and kills the hitman with the car when he shoots at her. Joe is unharmed and has called 9-1-1. Jackson arrives and incapacitates Joe, then pursues Lisa throughout the house. As they struggle, he throws her down the staircase. Lisa retrieves the dead hitman's gun and shoots Jackson. While he's wounded, he disarms her and is about to kill her when the revived Joe guns him down. Lisa returns to the hotel to provide assistance, where Keefe praises both women and thanks them for what they did to save his life with the rest of his family.

Cast

as Lisa Reisert *

as Jackson Rippner * Brian Cox as Joe Reisert, Lisa's father * Jayma Mays as Cynthia, Lisa's friend and co-worker * Jack Scalia as Charles Keefe, the United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security *

Robert Pine Robert Pine (born Granville Whitelaw Pine; July 10, 1941) is an American actor. He is best known as Sgt. Joseph Getraer on the television series ''CHiPs'' (1977–1983). Including ''CHiPs'', Pine has appeared in over 400 episodes of various tel ...

as Bob Taylor * Teresa Press-Marx as Marianne Taylor * Angela Paton as nice lady *

Suzie Plakson Suzie Plakson is an American actress. Career Plakson began her career on the stage, and played four characters opposite Anthony Newley in the national revival tour of '' Stop the World, I Want to Get Off''. She also played Marquise Theresa Du ...

as senior flight attendant * Monica McSwain as junior flight attendant * Dane Farwell as hitman at dad's house * Laura Johnson as blonde Woman * Loren Lester as doctor * Max Kasch as headphone kid * Kyle Gallner as headphone kid's brother * Brittany Oaks as Rebecca * Beth Toussaint as Lydia Keefe *

Colby Donaldson Colby Donaldson (born April 1, 1974) is an American television personality. He became the runner-up of '' Survivor: The Australian Outback'' (2001). He then competed on two more ''Survivor'' seasons, '' Survivor: All-Stars'' (2004) and '' Survi ...

as Keefe's head bodyguard *

Marc Macaulay Marc Macaulay (born October 13, 1957) is an American actor. Early life and career He was born and raised in Millinocket, Maine. He graduated with a BFA in theater. He appeared in the USA Network Series ''Burn Notice'' for five episodes as Age ...

as Coast Guard officer * Jenny Wade as coffee shop girl

Production

In March 2004, it was announced

had purchased ''Red Eye'', a script written by

described by trades as ''

Phone Booth A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box, telephone box or public call box is a tiny structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience; typically the user steps into the booth and closes the booth ...

'' on a plane. In August of that year, it was announced

had signed on to direct ''Red Eye''.

and

were cast as the film's leads that September, with Craven noting Murphy's enthusiasm for the role as he flew in for a meeting two days before his wedding.

Reception

Box office

''Red Eye'' opened theatrically on August 19, 2005, in 3,079 venues, earning $16,167,662 in its opening weekend, ranking second in the domestic box office behind ''

The 40-Year-Old Virgin ''The 40-Year-Old Virgin'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by Judd Apatow (in his feature directorial debut), who produced the film with Clayton Townsend and Shauna Robertson. It features Steve Carell as the titular 40-y ...

'' ($21,422,815). At the end of its run, eight weeks later (on October 13), the film grossed $57,891,803 in the United States and Canada, and $37,685,971 overseas for a worldwide total of $95,577,774. The film had a $26-million budget.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, ''Red Eye'' holds an approval rating of 80%, with an average score of 6.7/10 based on 194 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "With solid performances and tight direction from Wes Craven, ''Red Eye'' is a brisk, economic thriller." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film received a weighted score of 71 out of 100, based on 36 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of B on an A+ to F scale.

Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born June 27, 1943) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film i ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' gave the film 3.5/4 stars calling it the "best thriller of summer 2005", and a "gripping suspense

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

will pin you to your seat".

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

commended the film, calling it a "good thriller" that moves "competently ndrelentlessly". He praised Craven for making the film "function so smoothly" and "doing exactly what it was intended to do". Ebert also expressed admiration for the performances of McAdams and Murphy, stating that they are "very effective together". He said that McAdams is "so convincing because she keeps er performanceat ground level" and "she remains plausible even when the action ratchets up around her". He complimented Murphy for his "ability to modulate his character instead of gnashing the scenery". He gave the film 3/4 stars.

Manohla Dargis Manohla June Dargis ( ) is an American film critic. She is the chief film critic for ''The New York Times''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Career Before being a film critic for ''The New York Times'', Dargis ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called the film a "nifty, tense thriller" and said that the casting of the two leads is "a nice surprise". She said that Murphy is "a picture-perfect villain" and McAdams has a "depth of intensity" that is uncommon. ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' film critic Claudia Puig said the film is "fun to watch because of the strong performances". She praised McAdams for blending "vulnerability and courage" into her performance and called Murphy "menacing". While she mentioned that the film is "tense, smart, and nerve-wracking" and "entertaining and scary" on the first hour, she criticizes the film for going "downhill" and becoming a "by-the-book action flick". ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''s Robert Koehler stated that "''Red Eye'' relies on hoodwinking an audience with its tension, so that the sheer illogic of the conspiracy plot can slip by without detection" but complimented McAdams for finding "new and interesting ways of silently projecting fear".

Wesley Morris Wesley Morris (born December 19, 1975) is an American film critic and podcast host. He is currently critic-at-large for ''The New York Times'', as well as co-host, with J Wortham, of the ''New York Times'' podcast '' Still Processing.'' Previou ...

of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' felt the film was like a "poor cousin of an episode of '' 24''. Call it 12." In October 2006, the film ranked 25th in the ''30 Even Scarier Movie Moments'', a follow-up to

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...

's '' The 100 Scariest Movie Moments'', which was aired in October 2004. In 2021, Cillian Murphy said, "I remember when I saw it, was like 'Oh, that’s kind of a schlocky B movie. Rachel McAdams is excellent in it.' But I didn’t think I gave a very nuanced performance in it. But, listen, if people love the movie then that’s great. I’m pleased with that." In 2024, he recalled that ''Red Eye'' is not among his favorites: "I love Rachel McAdams and we had fun making it but I don’t think it’s a good movie. It’s a good B movie."

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Red Eye (Film) 2000s mystery thriller films 2005 films 2005 action thriller films 2005 psychological thriller films American aviation films American action thriller films American mystery thriller films American psychological thriller films DreamWorks Pictures films 2000s English-language films Films about stalking Films about terrorism Films directed by Wes Craven Films scored by Marco Beltrami Films set in Miami Films set on airplanes Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Miami Films set in Fort Worth, Texas 2000s Russian-language films 2000s American films Films produced by Marianne Maddalena English-language action thriller films English-language mystery thriller films Teen Choice Award winning films

Plot

Cast

Production

Reception

Box office

Critical response

Awards and nominations

See also

References

External links